Case Scenario: STARTUP WEEKEND: A FERTILE PLACE TO MEET BUSINESS COFOUNDERS

Startup Weekend is a not-for-profit organization that organizes weekend events. The purpose is to create a context in which small groups of people conceive and start a business in 54 hours. Startup Weekends are held periodically in local communities and on college campuses across the United States. Since Startup Weekend launched in 2006, the organization has helped local volunteers put on over 1,500 Startup Weekend events in 726 cities. The events have involved over 123,000 entrepreneurs. Over 13,000 businesses have been started during Startup Weekend events. here's how it works. Each Startup Weekend is semiautonomous and is organized by a group of local volunteers. The local volunteers get support through Startup Weekend's events team, which is located in Seattle, Washington. The local volunteers pick the date, find a venue to hold the event, and organize the weekend.

A typical Startup Weekend attracts 60-120 people. The ideal mix of participants is 50 percent technical (developers, coders, designers) and 50 percent business (marketing, finance, law). The only requirement for admission (other than a nominal admission fee) is to have a passion for entrepreneurship and a willingness to work with like-minded, motivated people to develop a product or business in one weekend. Many Startup Weekends are organized around themes. Examples include Fashion & Tech, Mobile, Education, health & Wellness, and Food. A Startup Weekend is organized as follows. friday: Participants arrive between 5 and 7 p.m., begin networking, and eat dinner. After a short ice-breaking exercise, the pitches begin. Anyone is welcome to make a 60-second pitch of a business idea. If the Startup Weekend is a themed weekend (like Fashion & Tech or health & Wellness), all the pitches must adhere to the theme. After the pitches are finished, all attendees vote on their favorites. The top ideas are selected to be worked on for the weekend. Teams form organically and consolidate, and the work begins. Saturday: Teams work all day, with the occasional breaks to eat. Mentors and coaches circulate to provide support and advice. Individual team members reach out to people in their networks (typically via text or e-mail) to solicit feedback and advice.

The pace is quick and intense, and the business idea may iterate multiple times. A path forward is eventually agreed upon and a rough prototype takes shape. Most teams build a website. Approximately 95 percent of Startup Weekend ideas are mobile or Web focused (regardless of the theme), thus the need for developers, coders, and designers. The idea is not to conceive an idea for a business. The idea is to build a business. sunday: Teams continue their work from morning until mid-afternoon. Around 3 to 4 p.m., they start wrapping things up and practicing their presentations. After the judges arrive, presentations begin. The initial 50-person group is now ten 5-person teams. The judges select the top teams, give out awards, and the event ends-with just 54 hours from first hearing an idea to the birth of a business. Afterwards: Whether the team stays together after the Startup Weekend concludes is strictly up to the members of the team. About 55 percent of Startup Weekend participants continue working on their idea with their team intact. Approximately 23 percent continue working together with some of their team members. Thus, for participants, Startup Weekend is a fertile place to find a team of people to work with on a business idea. To learn whether a Startup Weekend is being planned for your city or area, simply access the "Upcoming Events" link on Startup Weekend's website. There is a version of Startup Weekend called 3 Day Startup that is designed specifically for college campuses. It is a for-profit organization, but provides more structure and support than Startup Weekend provides. You can learn more about 3 Day Startup at 3daystartup.org.

Questions for Critical Thinking

1. In referring to Startup Weekend, someone made the comment "It's not a start-up factory, it's an entrepreneur factory." What do you think the person meant by that comment?

2. To what degree do you agree with the basic premise of the feature that Startup Weekends represent a fertile place to meet business co-founders?

3. What can people learn by attending a Startup Weekend, even if they ultimately do not stay together with their team after the weekend ends?

4. Spend some time looking at the website for 3 Day Startup. how do Startup Weekend and 3 Day Startup compare? Are both equally suited for college student entrepreneurs?